>as well..
>
>To say "most important" would be a huge huge stretch. And I
>know that even saying "it's the best thing that's happened" is
>still a shocker, but it is a difference from saying it's that
>important.
I mean even saying it's the best thing in 20 years would mean better than a lot of great stuff that I'm still bumping and very proud of (Project Blowed, the Likwit crew, Murs/Living Legends, Stones Throw, TDE).

>I for sure agree that Jerkin burnt out extremely fast...but
>the way I see it, I feel that the sound it created just
>immediately said "all right, eff the gimmicks, and lets at
>least make regular club music" which is what happened.

Now this I would say is more about what was going on in the rest of the world than Jerkin. These kids wanted their shit to bang in the clubs like say Luda but the difference is Luda could really spit. So I don't know that I would give those artists credit for LA artists wanting to be in the club because I just don't think they were looking at it like ok we have to get in the club like Cali Swag Movement. More like they want club bangers like Luda or Rick Ross. I don't think they narrowed it down to region like that as much as looking at who had club songs.
>
>I can agree that I am looking at it as a DJ...and that's why I
>probably see it as more important to overall L.A. culture and
>the Rap. For example...in early 2008, if I happened to DJ a HS
>party, you saw the dudes posted around, maybe hopping on girls
>as usual, but still just standing, looking hard, etc etc. Just
>a year later, ALL of them were dancing, even the ones who
>couldn't dance. Even the super tall dude, the fat dude, etc
>etc...and I don't think we ever saw a shift that happened
>overnight in that way that also had music behind it.

>
>Yea good point, it did influence the South and Midwest to feel
>like "maybe we don't have to dickride NY or even cater to them
>to get big"...and it may have even lead to the South's future
>dominance at that time. And yeah, Westside Connection and not
>Pac was the reason that everybody screamed and still screams
>"Westside" for sure.

>
>Even though I was in the camp, I always felt he was too much
>of an East Coast artist that just happened to be from here.
>One thing we never speak on much is the fact that in
>2001-2003, most L.A. rappers who weren't rapping on a gangsta
>tip ALL rapped like they were from the East Coast...especially
>when you went to battle type events. Game was one of many..and
>he also chose to Rap on East Coast and other mainstream beats.
>And that reminds me...even when I first met with his manager
>and two BWS artists...I only played them my East Coast
>sounding beats at first, but when I got to the L.A. soundin
>ones, they went wild...and I was like oh...maybe they do
>actually like West Coast beats too?

That's funny you say that because that's how I would exactly describe Game. He sounded like an LA rapper trying to sound like an East Coast rapper to me. I never got that feeling with say Ras Kass or Aceyalone. Like obviously they were influenced by the East Coast but they did a better job of making sure they put their own flavor on it.
>
>But I agree about the folks in his camp and who were
>connected...they were dope rappers, but not artists. And I
>think folks like Sly Boogy still didn't get a chance to shine,
>as for those who could Rap AND make songs. Sly was the perfect
>balance...vs Crooked I, who I rode the hardest for back then,
>who never learned to make songs.

Sly Boogie SHOULD have blown up. With him I often wonder was it because he was just too far from LA? I remember hearing him on the Wake Up Show and when he said he was from the Inland Empire some kids I knew were like next! I was with you riding for Crooked for a long time...going back to his days at Noo Tybe Records. I was just so sure that he was gonna be the next Snoop or Cube. I do have to give him credit for at least finding a lane with Slaughterhouse and doing his thing that way.

>
>Eh, I donno...they were all around before Jerkin, and I feel
>like it's hard to make the connection, but it makes sense that
>it all got big at one time. Almost like L.A. came back into
>the Hip Hop world with a variety pack, like "ok you hate the
>dancing gimmicky shit, well...check this. Oh, you just wanna
>party, well check this."

But I think we can never underestimate timing. You're right they were all around but K Dot was super talented he really hadn't perfected how to write songs like he has now. I still think WB Records dropped the ball with Jay Rock and if they had put his album out back then he could have had some success. Not platinum or gold but definitely something to build on.

>I guess I could have re-worded...what I meant is that the kids
>now aren't ONLY "Hip Hop heads" in many cases, and they can
>enjoy all of the artists. The Black kids especially. Speaking
>of Rock The Bells, Paid Dues this year taught me a lot. I
>realized that the crowd basically remained the same for Joey
>Badass, Trinidad, Problem, Juicy J, Dom...and they loved it
>ALL. But for the songs I played inbetween, they basically
>liked the new club songs more than the 90's Hip Hop, even
>though they all loved Joey and Kendrick. So it feels like they
>just had balance...I thought they would boo a Trinidad, or
>even hate me for playing Bugatti type songs RIGHT AFTER Joey
>went off.

I noticed that too. I had a couple of young artists with me at the time last year and I asked them about Trinidad James and they didn't immediately dismiss him. More like "well this shit is catchy and funny to me". They kind of saw it for what it was.

>LOL @ Tyrese. Nah...Jerkin for suuuuure appealed to boys just
>as much...most of the videos had boys dancing just as much.

No love for Black Ty huh??
>
>I think what made me respect the young kids was after doing an
>all Jerkin party. Packing up, some kids stayed around, and
>were playing songs on YouTube...and I was talking to them. I
>joked and said "you know y'all gon hate ALL of this BS in a
>few years" and one said "I mean, we know it sucks, it's just
>fun to dance to. We like more than this" and two were actually
>hype when I mentioned Murs. I was like whoa...y'all really
>like Murs AND this Pink Dollaz shit? And it made me realize
>that this generation wasn't built off radio...so they have a
>better chance of liking the dance bullshit AND some "real Hip
>Hop" than what's fed to them on TV..which was dope.

I think that's kind of a return to the early days of Hip Hop. I think people hate the dance shit so much when it takes over and it's the dominant voice that you hear. But thrown in the mix? I think most kids look at it no differently than any other pop song.

>I think the main difference comparing the late 80's dances and
>even a "Humpty dance" is that there were way more "Hip Hop"
>songs being played at clubs/parties back then. EPMD, De La,
>Tribe, even some Cube songs, Quik, etc for L.A....while by the
>late 2000's, the songs almost had to give you instructions on
>how to dance. And the club music was just THAT much different
>from what wasn't meant for the club.

But going back to like Joeski Love and World Class Wrecking Crew with "The Fly"...those records were basically pop dance records with some rapping on them so at least for me it did remind me of the early to mid 80's scene in LA.

>I don't wanna giev ALL the credit to a CSD or New Boyz, and I
>feel Kanye is for sure a bigger reason than Jerkin to lead to
>a Kendrick type act...that's for sure. I just think it tore
>down the Regionalism that had plagued L.A for so long, not
>that there was any direct connection to the music itself. It
>was almost the face of the new L.A. attitude, which was "yeah,
>we might be from the hood, but we're no longer just rapping
>about how hood we are, how hard we bang, etc" and all from the
>same tree.

I think LA has been more than ready for new voices...they just haven't had the songs behind them for the most part. I thought Bishop Lamont was going to be where Kendrick is years ago but obviously that shit didn't work out. He was a lot more in lines with your average young Black male than say Game's image was.
>
>I can for sure see what you mean with that, but I just feel
>that people in the South and even East were completely close
>minded to EVERYTHING we had at the time, regardless of if it
>was club music, legit lyricism from Blu, laid back smoker
>music from Dom, semi-gangsta from Jay Rock. I was no longer in
>the South after 08, but I still remember going back in 09 and
>2010, and seeing that the young college kids from other places
>were into all of the L.A. music at once..and maybe it isn't a
>direct credit to Jerkin as I feel, but I just think it had to
>be some type of connection.

I just think it was a lot of the dudes in the scene saying fuck it I'm not waiting for Snoop, Dre or Cube to come "save me" and they just did it on their own. The built up their teams, built up fan bases, toured, made quality mixtapes and established their own identity. It makes perfect sense to me that Dom is getting love down in Atlanta and other parts of the South. He's a legit artist with his own conversational style that's not too complicated or too gangster. Regarding Blu I think he has kind of missed his boat as well. For a good long minute he was my personal favorite of any of the young up and coming dudes and I thought he had the best chance to blow up and crossover for more mainstream success in a Lupe/Common kind of way. I think he made a big mistake by signing up with the Black music black hole that is Warner Bros.

>I mean...I'd say it's been 4 years and all with positive
>momentum. Seeing 2 Chainz, Jeezy, and now B.o.B and Ludacris
>really going to Mustard for their lead singles...and then
>League of Starz, or even P. Lo from the Bay producing tracks
>for Chris Brown, Yo Gotti, Wiz, that are club hits...I feel we
>have a strong sound now that has plenty room for growth. The
>recent Mustard tracks for TeeFlii already show another level
>of progression, incorporating actual musical chords and
>changes on top of the "Ratchet" type drums.

Did I also hear that Mustard is now with Roc Nation? That could take him to a whole other level if that's true.

>Yeah, Game's shit was manufactured, and EVERYBODY who knew him
>before 04 said he dressed just like regular L.A "Pretty
>boys"...Enyce, Pelle Pelle, etc etc. Yea, Clown/Krump culture
>as a whole was much bigger, more dynamic, more complicated,
>and lasted longer...but not having any music behind it made it
>almost pointless for L.A Rap. Now, mentioning Tight Eyes is
>hilarious. If you know who TeeFlii is right now...that's
>actually Baby Tight Eyes from Rize! Funny that he didn't make
>music until now.

No I didn't know that was Tight Eyes! That is strange that he took so long to make some music. His story and everything about him I feel like could have made him a real star. I mean when is the last time Hip Hop had a star that was actually lyrical and danced? Big Daddy Kane? Moe Dee? I wonder how much bigger Game could have been and could be if he was just on some regular street MC shit and not so super duper gang banged out. I always felt he missed an opportunity to be bigger and more successful because he was so deadset on banging and dissing. If he had come out as say a dope storyteller MC with a street edge to him I've always said he would have been bigger and more respected. Now he's close to 10 years into his career and I feel like nobody takes him serious at all because of all of his shenanigans.
>
>Once again, I still think it's a huge diff in saying most
>important vs best thing. And musically, it was far from the
>best, for sure. But I saw the potential from day one...and
>knew that the kids who made the music in 09 that would take it
>serious may have some gold in their hands. Most of them were
>really recording and making beats on free software, so it made
>sense why it sucked. I did think more of the artists would
>have got big from the era, especially the girls...some
>actually had some decent little teenage flows.

For me it just seemed like there was no substance or bottom to a lot of what I heard. I met with some of the artists during that time and some of their managers and they all seemed to be on some "we know this shit ain't gonna last" type of vibe and they were right. It's hard to build anything if that's the mindset of the people creating it.